'It was a city,' said Beregond, 'the chief city of Gondor, of which this was only a fortress. For that is the ruin of Osgiliath on either side of Anduin, which our enemies took and burned long ago. Yet we won it back in the days of the youth of Denethor: not to dwell in, but to hold as an outpost, and to rebuild the bridge for the passage of our arms. And then came the Fell Riders out of Minas Morgul.'

Introduction

Osgiliath was the old capital city of Gondor. The city straddled the Anduin River at a point approximately half way between the cities of Minas Anor to the south-west and Minas Ithil to the north-east, and north of the nearby Emyn Arnen. In the Great Hall of the city the thrones of the sons of Elendil were set side by side. In its days of glory, the city featured quays to handle sea-going vessels that came up from the sea, a great stone bridge supporting houses and towers of stone, and the Dome of Stars, which housed the Osgiliath-stone, the greatest of the seven Palantíri.